North Risk Partners merges with Midwest United in Marshall, Minn.
St. Cloud, Minn. – Effective June 1, 2018, North Risk Partners merged with Midwest United Insurance Services, a seven-person independent insurance agency located in Marshall, Minn.
Midwest United joins the company as its 22nd location across three states: Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. The merger also expands North Risk’s footprint into the southwest corner of Minnesota, an area where it previously had no representation.
Midwest United President Ben Wiener, son of recently retired Midwest United founder Darrel Wiener, maintains ownership in the company and has also joined North Risk’s executive leadership team.
In his new role, Wiener will develop coverage and service opportunities that specifically meet the risk management needs of businesses and families in the outstate area. He will also lead project development out of a Sioux Falls office, while continuing to serve current clients with his team of insurance professionals in the Marshall office who have also become employees of North Risk Partners.
“As I have developed a relationship with Ben, it is clear to me we share the same core values,” says North Risk Partners CEO Chris Meidt, who grew up in Minneota, a small town 15 minutes from Marshall. “With North Risk’s operational excellence and his entrepreneurial spirit, we will do great things together.”
Clients of Midwest United will gain access to North Risk’s wide array of insurance coverages and, those who own or operate a business, will benefit from built-in loss prevention services in the areas of human resources, safety, worksite wellness, and more. North Risk Partners – Midwest Division, as it has now been renamed, will leverage its new capabilities to expand its reach to businesses, farms, and families in its area.
“Our clients are our number one priority and we’re always striving to improve how we serve them,” says Wiener. “Our team couldn’t be more excited about the value this partnership brings to everyone involved. Chris has done an incredible job leading and growing North Risk Partners and I’m really looking forward to being a part of his exceptional executive team moving forward.”
North Risk Partners has completed nine merger-acquisitions since 2014 when Meidt joined the firm. Meidt is working on finalizing several more acquisitions this summer and anticipates the company growing to over 300 employees and $55M in revenue by the end of 2018. At its current size, North Risk Partners has already tripled its annual revenue since 2014.
“This merger realizes my vision for Midwest United much quicker than if I had done it alone,” Wiener explains. “We now have strength in numbers, value-added services for our clients, greater technology capabilities and I was able to do it with a team of people who share our same level of integrity and values.”
Midwest United has become a division of North Risk Partners, adopting the North Risk Partners brand as its own effective immediately. North Risk Partners itself is a product of three independent agencies merging in 2012: St. Cloud-based Apollo Insurance, Rochester-based C.O. Brown Insurance, and Johnson McCann in St. Paul. The North Risk Partners name was established in 2013, yet the company has roots dating back over 100 years.
“My experience growing up in southwest Minnesota was tremendous; I know many great families and businesses that make the area special,” says Meidt. “I am looking forward to providing incredible products to them for many years to come.”
Prior to joining North Risk Partners, Meidt was a Walmart Stores, Inc. executive and a football coach at St. Olaf College and the Washington Redskins.
About North Risk Partners
North Risk Partners is an independent insurance brokerage and risk management advisory firm specializing in strategic solutions for businesses and individuals. The firm’s core areas of service are property and casualty, including commercial, home, auto, farm, and more; and benefits, including health and life plans for employee benefit programs as well as individuals and families. North Risk also has a significant surety bonds practice.
North Risk Partners advisors are committed to helping clients face risk head-on with right-fit insurance coverage and attention to opportunities for preventing avoidable losses. For businesses, the firm offers programming and compliance support in the areas of human resources, safety, worksite wellness and more.
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